Chapter Two: Quidditch Wins and Whistling Winds
Hermione POV
"Another goal from Ginny Weasley puts the Harpies up over Puddlemere 130-120! With the two teams competing for the top spot in the league, we knew this would be a good one, folks, but we didn't know just how good!"
The announcer's voice echoed throughout the stadium as the green and gold crowd surrounding Hermione cheered raucously. The cheers grew even louder as Ginny took a lightning-fast celebratory lap around the stadium before diving back into play. Hermione beamed as she watched her best friend fly so effortlessly, weaving in and out of the opposing players as she once again closed in on the Puddlemere hoops. Oliver Wood, former Gryffindor Captain and Keeper, was moving quickly, doing his best to keep his body between Ginny and the three large hoops, but it was no use – Ginny was on fire.
"Goal Harpies! 140-120! With Weasley's eighth goal of the match, Holyhead is starting to pull away now!"
Again, the crowd roared, and pride started to well up in Hermione's chest. She hadn't missed a single one of Ginny's professional Quidditch games since she signed with Holyhead shortly after her 18th birthday, and she had never seen Ginny play quite like this before. She knew how much it meant for Ginny to lead the Harpies to the top of the British and Irish Quidditch League, and if they won the match today, that's exactly where they'd be. Hermione gasped along with the crowd as the two Seekers suddenly tore off over top the spectators and out of the stadium. A moment later, the Holyhead Seeker returned with a triumphant smile on her face as she showed the captured Snitch to the crowd.
"Helena Glenn has caught the Snitch! And with that, the Holyhead Harpies have beaten Puddlemere, taking over the top spot in the British and Irish Quidditch League!"
The crowd celebrated as if they'd just won the league cup, cheering as loudly as they could, and Hermione joined in, all the while keeping her eyes fixed on Ginny. She was celebrating with her teammates, hugging them tightly and clapping them on the back. The team strode over to the Harpies supporters' section to wave and clap, thanking them for their support. Ginny caught Hermione's eye, shot her a smile, and winked – she certainly had a knack for making Hermione feel special.
Once the team left for the changing room, Hermione filed out of the stadium with the rest of the fans, and patiently waited outside the changing room exit. A queue had formed as it always did, with fans of all ages waiting to get autographs or photos with their favorite player. Ginny was often the last player to leave as she had quite a fanbase, so Hermione got comfortable with the book she'd brought for a bit of light reading.
It didn't take Hermione's level of intelligence to notice the trend in Ginny's fans. Yes, there were the hordes of school-aged children, both boys and girls, that idolized her for her Quidditch prowess. It always warmed Hermione's heart to overhear a young girl tell Ginny she wanted to be just like her when she grew up. But besides that, Ginny's fans skewed just a bit older – women in their 20s, and Hermione wasn't exactly a fan of that. She was so proud of Ginny for coming out publicly, announcing that she was a lesbian during a post-match interview at the conclusion of her rookie year with the Harpies. Hermione was initially relieved that the response from the masses was so overwhelmingly positive, until she realized the change in Ginny's fanbase. Since then, there hadn't been an autograph signing session without Ginny receiving a proposal or two from fans. Marriage proposals, requests to sign body parts, gifts, you name it, had been showered upon the popular athlete for years now, and Hermione had yet to grow comfortable with it. She didn't know exactly what the issue was, but as ridiculous as it seemed, she figured it had something to do with her not wanting to share the attention of her best friend, of her Ginny.
Once Ginny finally signed the last autograph, she walked over to Hermione and tapped the underside of her book, a broad grin on her freckled face.
"So… What'd you think?" she asked, clearly proud of the result of the match.
"You were brilliant, Ginny. Positively brilliant," Hermione beamed, wrapping her up in a tight hug. She noticed the eyes of some of Ginny's fans on them, but she didn't care.
"Thanks Hermione," Ginny said, her grin somehow growing even larger as she released her from the hug. "Come on, lets head back to my flat."
"What? Don't you want to go out and celebrate with your teammates?" Hermione asked.
Ginny shrugged, "I see them far more often than I see you. Besides, I'd rather celebrate this special occasion with someone just as special, you know?" she said, offering Hermione her arm. Hermione looped her arm through Ginny's and they began to walk away from the stadium towards Ginny's flat.
While Holyhead wasn't where Hermione would necessarily choose to live, she had to admit, it was quite nice. She particularly loved the views of the Irish Sea that Ginny always insisted on showing her anytime she came to visit. Hermione visited Ginny's flat far less than Ginny visited her cottage in Ottery St. Catchpole, so whenever she was in Holyhead, she was more than willing to allow Ginny to show her the sights.
After a quick ten-minute walk, they'd arrived at Ginny's flat. It was small and simple – very similar to Ginny's room at the Burrow when she was growing up, but with far less posters of Holyhead Harpies players, of course. Her sitting room had one well-loved sofa across from a worn brick fireplace, with an old coffee table sitting in between. The coffee table was littered with Quidditch magazines, as Ginny apparently could never get enough of the sport. The sitting room continued into the kitchen, with a small circular table and four chairs acting as the separation point between the two rooms. Although Ginny's kitchen only had the bare minimum in terms of prep-space and cooking apparatuses, Ginny never failed to whip up something delicious when Hermione stopped by. On the other side of the flat was a modest bathroom and Ginny's bedroom.
Ginny took Hermione's traveling cloak and Harpies scarf, hanging them on the back of one of the chairs at the table before lighting a fire in the fireplace. Hermione sat down on the couch and got comfortable, kicking off her shoes as she picked up a copy of Seeker Weekly from the coffee table and began flipping through it.
"I wonder who will be on the cover of next week's issue…" she mused as she shot Ginny a knowing smile.
Ginny rolled her eyes, but returned the smile, "It was a team effort, Hermione. If Helena hadn't managed to get the Snitch before the Puddlemere Seeker, all of the points I scored wouldn't have amounted to anything," Ginny pointed out.
"Don't get me started on the ridiculousness that is the scoring system of Quidditch…" Hermione said as Ginny handed her a mug of hot Butterbeer and sat down on the couch beside her with her own. "Anyway, here's to the Harpies being at the top of the league! And here's to the reason they're at the top of the league, the best Chaser in the league," Hermione smiled, lifting her mug to Ginny.
Again, Ginny rolled her eyes and smiled as she clinked her mug against Hermione's before taking a sip.
"So… Anyone catch your eye?" Hermione asked casually as she set the mug down on the little bit of bare table she could find.
Ginny furrowed her brow as she swallowed her mouthful of Butterbeer, "What do you mean?"
Hermione gave her a knowing look, "You know what I mean, Ginevra. Did anyone catch your eye during the signing session?"
"Eh, not really… I mean even if they had, I'm sure I ruined any chance I had with them as soon as I took off with you on my arm."
Hermione internally smiled at this, but kept her face neutral, "You really should be better about that… You wouldn't want your fans to think you were unavailable…"
Ginny shrugged, "Let them think that. I doubt I'll find someone I genuinely fancy enough to date in a signing session after a match."
"You haven't seemed to have had an issue with that before…"
Ginny chuckled and smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, well, I'm not really sure any of that has counted as dating…"
They both took another sip of their Butterbeers as a particularly strong gust of wind hit the side of Ginny's flat, whistling through the old windows. The weather for the match hadn't been too bad, but it'd certainly turned since they arrived at Ginny's flat. Ginny got up and covered Hermione's lap with a blanket before continuing into the kitchen.
"Anything in particular you'd like for dinner?" Ginny asked as she began rummaging through her fridge.
Hermione checked her watch, "Ginny, it's barely four o'clock."
"Hey, I just played a very competitive match of Quidditch, I'm starving!"
Hermione laughed, "Alright, alright, make whatever you want. Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be delicious. And I'm very much looking forward to experiencing what it'd be like to dine with my grandparents at their usual dinnertime…"
Ginny grinned at her and got to work in the kitchen. Hermione got up from the couch, wrapped the blanket around herself, and sat at the table to watch Ginny cook. Ginny had certainly inherited her mum's skills in the kitchen, and as jealous Hermione was of that, she was also deeply impressed. There actually wasn't much that Ginny couldn't do well, when Hermione really thought about it. She felt lucky that she had such an incredible woman as her best friend.
Another gust of wind whistled through the flat, and Hermione shivered.
"Sorry about that. My landlord is planning on fixing that soon. Well, at least he claims he is. In the meantime, staying by the fire isn't too bad, and my room somehow always stays reasonably warm."
"Is that when you're alone, or…?"
Ginny turned around, an amused smile on her face, "You seem to be very interested in who I've been seeing lately…"
"Well, I just… I just think it's time you settled down with someone worth your time, that's all…" Hermione said firmly.
Ginny raised her eyebrows, "First of all, I'm 23. I'm not quite sure that settling down is something I fancy doing just yet. Second, how do you know none of them have been worth my time?"
"You admitted just last week that you don't take anyone you've gone out with seriously," Hermione pointed out.
"I believe you said that, and I just agreed because I didn't want to talk about it."
"And why don't you want to talk about it?"
Ginny furrowed her brow at Hermione.
"We're best friends, Ginny. That's what best friends do, they talk about this kind of stuff. You never want to talk about any of the women you shag or the men I go out with."
Ginny raised her eyebrows again, "The woman I shag, huh?"
"Yes, the women you shag! You never want to talk to me about them, why?"
Ginny was frozen, staring at Hermione with an unreadable expression on her face. And she wasn't the only one taken aback by what Hermione had said. Hermione herself had no idea where any of this was coming from. She didn't necessarily enjoy hearing about the women Ginny had been with, but at the same time, she didn't like feeling left out of a part of Ginny's life. That must be what this all was, her wanting to feel more involved in Ginny's life.
Ginny shrugged, "I don't know… I guess I've got other things I'd rather talk to you about. The way I see it, you're the most important woman in my life… Well, besides my mum, of course… And I don't want to spend my time with you talking about someone else…"
Hermione pulled the blanket tighter around her, not sure of how to respond.
"I guess that's fair…" Hermione muttered quietly.
Ginny sighed, "Would you like me to ask about Edward more?"
Hermione shook her head, "No, you don't have to. I'm not sure we're going to last much longer anyway. He was being really odd about me not being willing to skip your match to go apple picking this past week. I don't understand why he couldn't grasp that we can go apple picking any old time, while your matches are scheduled for specific dates and times…"
Ginny seemed to lighten up as she turned her back to Hermione and continued preparing their dinner, "Wow, Hermione. Tell me, how do you feel dating such an idiot?"
Hermione huffed, "He's not an idiot! He happens to be one of the smartest men I've dated…"
"And yet…"
"And yet what?"
Ginny turned around, offering a taste of the soup she'd made to Hermione. Hermione tasted it and closed her eyes, nodding her approval of how good it was because, Merlin's beard, was it good.
"And yet, he seems to be just another man who has an issue with our friendship…" Ginny pointed out, now ladling the soup into bowls.
Hermione frowned at this. Ginny wasn't wrong. Almost all of the relationships she'd had with men over the past few years had dissolved due to some sort of issue having to do with her close friendship with Ginny. They always wanted to be the center of her attention, the center of her world, but Hermione already had someone in that place. She couldn't understand why the men she dated had such an issue with the friendship. Loads of women she knew had close relationships with other women as well as boyfriends or husbands, so why couldn't she?
"Is he even good in bed?" Ginny asked nonchalantly as she set the two bowls down on the circular table and sat down in the chair across from Hermione.
"Ginevra!" Hermione scolded, feeling the heat rush to her cheeks.
Ginny laughed, "Oh, but it's okay for you to want to talk about the women I shag?"
Hermione glared at her as she took a spoonful of soup into her mouth.
"That bad, huh?" Ginny asked, a smirk ghosting on her lips.
"He's not bad… He's fine…" Hermione admitted, taking another spoonful of soup.
That was the truth. Edward wasn't bad, he was fine. As fine as any of the other men had been. Clearly, the books and movies that had depicted sex as some big passionate ordeal had been elaborating, because no matter how strong the feelings for these men had been, which admittedly, really hadn't been strong enough to be categorized as love, had no effect on how sex felt to Hermione. It was fine. And that was fine. What choice did she have but to accept that?
Hermione looked up, and saw that Ginny was looking at her with a pitying expression.
"What?" Hermione asked irritably.
"I'd hate to hear that I was fine in bed… That's all…" Ginny muttered, before taking a few mouthfuls of soup.
"New topic…" Hermione said firmly. "So, what does this win mean for the post-season?"
The rest of the dinner was spent with Ginny going on and on about the playoff picture for the British and Irish Quidditch League, and what she figured their odds were at winning the league title before then going on to win the league cup. Once they were done eating, Hermione insisted on cleaning up the table and the mess Ginny had created in the kitchen, while Ginny changed into comfier clothes. As Hermione finished up the last dish and sat down on the couch bundled up in the blanket, Ginny emerged from her bedroom wearing an overlarge Harpies jumper and a thick pair of joggers.
"Hey, would you like to stay over?" Ginny asked as she sat down beside Hermione and kicked a few magazines off the coffee table to put her feet up. She pointed her wand at the fireplace and the fire blazed back to life, quickly warming the small sitting room. "Contrary to your boyfriend's belief, we really don't get enough time together. Have you got plans in the morning, or could you stay?"
"I can stay, yes, but where would I sleep? I think I'm getting a bit too old to sleep on your sofa… I did just turn 25, after all…"
Ginny grinned, "Oh don't worry, Miss Granger, I'll sleep on the sofa and you can have my bed. Wouldn't want an old Ministry professional like yourself slumming it on a sofa…" she chuckled.
"I assume your sheets have been recently cleaned…" Hermione said, eyeing Ginny.
Ginny laughed out loud at that, "Yes mum, I've cleaned my sheets! You can always Scourgify them if you don't trust me…"
"No, I trust you."
"Good! Now, fancy a game of Exploding Snap?"
Ginny refilled their mugs of Butterbeer while Hermione cleared off the coffee table, and then they were off, wrapped up in a competitive series of Exploding Snap. They were pretty evenly matched when it came to the game, so it often made for heated experience between the two competitive women when they went head-to-head. After the ninth round in which Hermione captured her fifth win, making her the overall victor, they decided to go to bed.
"If you want to borrow something to sleep in, feel free to go through the clothes in the trunk at the foot of the bed, that's where most of my warmer stuff is. I've also got an extra toothbrush in the cabinet under the sink, and don't worry, it's unused and therefore perfectly clean," Ginny grinned.
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Shouldn't you have multiple extra toothbrushes? Or do the women you bring home not brush their teeth when they stay over?"
"They do, they just usually use my toothbrush."
"What? Ginny, that's disgusting!"
Ginny chuckled, "I Scourgify it afterwards. Or toss it. Besides, who am I to judge what they put in their mouth when mine's been on their – "
"Alright! That's quite enough!"
Ginny laughed, "No longer want to talk about the women I shag, do you?"
"No, I don't. Goodnight, Ginevra," Hermione said firmly.
Ginny was still laughing, "Goodnight, Hermione."
Hermione entered Ginny's bedroom and closed the door softly behind her. The room was so Ginny. It was simple, but it wasn't desolate like the bedrooms and flats she'd experienced while dating men. It was homey, cozy, nice. Hermione's favorite picture was on the nightstand beside Ginny's bed – the two of them on Ginny's last day at Hogwarts. Ginny looked ecstatic, so overjoyed to be done with school, while Hermione was looking at her proudly. Hermione wondered if that picture stayed up when Ginny had women over to her flat.
Hermione walked over to the trunk and opened it, rifling through Ginny's clothes until she found what she was looking for – Ginny's Gryffindor Quidditch jumper from her final year at school. She also pulled out a pair of plain black joggers. She slipped out of her own clothes and into Ginny's, already feeling more comfortable now having changed into clothes that were just a tad big on her, due to Ginny's height and muscle advantage over her. She then entered the bathroom through the door in Ginny's room, which led her to walk in on Ginny brushing her teeth at the sink.
Ginny smiled broadly, her mouth full of minty foam, and opened the cabinet to reveal the extra toothbrush. Hermione took it out of its packaging, added toothpaste, and ran it under the water before brushing her own teeth. They stood there together brushing their teeth, and it was oddly comforting. That was one of Hermione's favorite things about Ginny – she found comfort in doing the most mundane things with the woman. Once they were done, they exchanged "goodnights" once again, and Hermione climbed into Ginny's bed while Ginny headed out to the sofa.
Ginny's room and bed were comfortable, but not nearly as warm as the sitting room sofa had been with the lit fireplace nearby. Hermione could hear the wind howling outside and it was freezing as it whistled through the old rickety window beside Ginny's bed. Hermione pulled the quilt up under her chin, trying to bunch it closer to her in order to keep warm, but it was no use – there was no way she was going to be able to sleep in here like this. She got up out of the bed, wrapped the quilt around her, and walked into the sitting room to find Ginny had already fallen asleep on the sofa.
"Ginny," Hermione whispered.
No response, no movement.
"Ginny!" Hermione said a bit louder. The redhead rolled and looked up at Hermione.
"What'sa matter?" Ginny mumbled sleepily.
"I'm cold…"
Ginny grinned lazily and rubbed her eyes, "You're the one who didn't want to sleep on the sofa, remember?"
Hermione huffed, "And I still don't. Come sleep with me."
"What?" Ginny sat up, looking at her incredulously.
"Obviously not like that. Come on, it's far too cold in there to sleep alone. I need you to keep me warm."
Ginny was still gaping at her, she looked as if she wasn't quite fully awake yet.
"Fine… I'll just have to report back to your mum that you're not a very hospitable host…" Hermione said, marching back into Ginny's room. She heard Ginny sigh, and the creak of the sofa indicated that Ginny had gotten up to follow her.
Hermione climbed into Ginny's bed, as did Ginny on the side opposite. Ginny tossed the blanket from the sitting room over top the quilt on her bed so they now had multiple layers to hopefully help keep them warm.
"Happy now, Miss Granger? Is this to your standards?" Ginny teased as she settled in.
"Yes, thank you. I'll be sure to leave a good review with your mum."
Ginny chuckled sleepily as she adjusted a bit more before falling asleep on her back. Hermione was slowly starting to warm up, but was still quite cold. She rubbed her feet together, hoping the friction would speed up the warming process, to no avail. A sleeping Ginny rolled over onto her side to face Hermione, her minty breath gently blowing between her barely parted light pink lips. Ginny was quite a heavy sleeper, especially after Quidditch matches, and Hermione had never been more envious of that than she was right now. Another gust hit Ginny's flat and Hermione shivered. Looking at Ginny, who appeared to be incredibly content and warm as she'd slept through the gust, Hermione made a decision. She scooched closer to Ginny and rolled over so her back was to Ginny's front. That helped some, but another gust of wind whistling through the cracks in the window sent Hermione back further, her back now flush against Ginny's warm front. Hermione felt herself warm up quickly, her breathing began to slow, and she was nearly asleep when she felt Ginny snake her arm around her waist. Hermione's eyes widened at the feeling of Ginny holding her, but she didn't know why. Surely, best friends did this. It was fine. It was normal for one best friend to cuddle the other to sleep. She kept telling herself that as she relaxed into Ginny's body and finally drifted off to sleep, feeling safe, secure, and comfortable in the warm embrace of her best friend.